Chicken Coops for Sale in Sugarloaf, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Sugarloaf, California
Our Chicken Coop Design – Front Elevation (Part 2 of 3)
Okay, I lied. I had hoped to finish up writing on our chicken coop design with this post, but I ran out of time and markers…seriously – my gray marker ran out. So today I’m going to focus on the front elevation and next week I’ll wrap it up with the other 3 elevations.
Front Elevation of the Coop
When designing your coop you really need to think through ventilation for a number of reasons: respiratory health of the chickens; drying out the moisture and their manure keeps down the smells and the potential of the hens getting sick. I made ours super-ventilated by covering the entire front of our coop with hardware cloth. We may have gone overboard, but it’s better to err on the side of too much ventilation in a coop than too little…and because Atlanta has a fairly temperate climate, I think we’re good. That said, you do have to consider strong winds – particularly in the colder months. That’s why Britt and I crafted Roman shade-like curtains out of painter’s drop cloths for the front and the windows on the other 3 sides of the coop. It was quite inexpensive and fairly easy to do…particularly if you strategically use the hems already sewn in. These curtains will give our ladies a refuge from the cold winds – protecting the exposed areas of their bodies (combs, wattles, and feet).
Here are a few other things to note about the front elevation of our coop:
- Again, entire area is covered in hardware cloth. I could have used chicken wire on the top (bottom needs hardware cloth to keep out critters), but I had enough hardware cloth and I thought it looked better for the entire area to be consistent.
- The height of the walls are 6.5’…which is plenty high (for me at least) to be able to walk through the door…and there is plenty of height inside, since there is no ceiling (just the rafters and tin roof above).
- 24″ doors were constructed out of pressure-treated wood and painted the same color as the doors of our home.
- To clean things up a bit and to cover up where the pieces of hardware cloth met, I added 1″ trim on the outside of each 2×4 and painted it and the siding of the rest of the coop the same color gray as our house.
- We used gate latches as handles. If you do as well, make sure you make it so that you won’t get locked in when the doors close. To do that, I simply drilled a hole just above the latch and attached a long, thin chain that I threaded through the hole…allowing me to open the latch from inside. Don’t use string or twine…I found that out the hard way. String will wear out and break – leaving you stranded inside. Fortunately when it happened to me, one of my girls was within shouting distance.
- We were running out of hardware cloth when we were finishing the gable, so we simply filled in the middle space with a board and painted it gray. To make sense of this oddly proportioned space and to bring a little bit of character to the coop, I hung a set of antlers from a Mule Deer I shot several years ago with my dad in Wyoming.
So there’s the front elevation. We are really pleased with it…it’s done what we set out to do – make a more than livable space for our chickens (and bunny), while still being attractive. Now we may be a bit too particular, but I really think having an attractive coop in a nice setting has made raising chickens not only sustainable, but more enjoyable. So sure, you could build a coop that is purely functional, but if it looks like a hunk of junk, is that really something you want to see every day…sometimes several times? We thought not.
Next week I’ll wrap things up on our chicken coop design…but until then, please let me know if you have any other questions about our coop or raising chickens. I could perhaps work my answers into the next post.
Take care,
PS: Here are the links to and of Our Chicken Coop Design…and the link to .
Related posts on RYGblog
Chicken Coop Setup in Sugarloaf, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Sugarloaf California" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Sugarloaf California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Sugarloaf, California With the significant increase in chicken keeping there has actually been a similarly huge rise in the array of chicken materiel for sale. Fowl housing is a case in factor. It's additionally a classic example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential chicken housing experts peddle an array of cottage asserting to be the optimal solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Commonly the cost looks desirable, the house looks eye-catching, heck also the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a professional chicken house when they see one? There are several low-cost and also unpleasant coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, and also seen a ewe run straight with one when the feed pail showed up. The outcome was just a costly pile of firewood and a tiny flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop And Run Plans in Sugarloaf, California
Most of the time these standardized versions are created of rapid grown lumber - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either barricading a doorway that won't shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain effort to release the squawking inhabitants. The initial warm day indicates the lumber dries and splits, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not because of their disappointment at the decrease of their once attractive commercial property but due to the fact that the hovel is currently a place for, as well as probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 large hens when that equipping density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this could rely on whether you choose for a complimentary standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large space as well as the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you keep, after that the primary needs of housing come down to 3 factors which will define the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Most breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch ought to be above the nest box entry as chickens will certainly likewise naturally seek the acme to perch. A perch below that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is incidentally when they generate the most poo) causing stained eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could take place when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they ought to be greater than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their next-door neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably the house needs to have a least one nest box for every single 3 birds and also these should be off the ground and also in the darkest location of your house. Your house ought to have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will certainly develop every evening, also in the coldest of climate. Know, air flow works with the principle of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high void drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a set of openings on opposite walls of your house and at the same level, this is just what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run attached then the factors above are still true, however you need to additionally think about the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking thickness for a complimentary array bird is (as well as allow's face it, among the motivations for maintaining some chickens at home is potentially boosted or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's optimal one bird each 4m made even. Take a close consider several of the bargain residences - it could well be your home has the best perches, proper air flow as well as ample nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, however will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the claiming goes, "you get exactly what you spend for". You may think you've got hold of a bargain, yet you as well as your group could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the appropriate house as well as it will last for a couple of decades, otherwise longer given the proper treatment. In the long run your poultry and also your poultry keeping experience will certainly be considerably the far better for it.chickens plans
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Escondido, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Earlimart, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Santa Rosa, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Gold Run, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Brentwood, California